Simplicity
by Nekoi
Summary: Simple things. The bonds of a family, the happiness granted by a smile. By small and simple things is happiness made...or broken. Three short one-shots, each from a different perspective.
1. Chains

**DISCLAIMER:** I do **NOT** own Naruto, nor Gaara (No, he's not in this fic...Sorry Gaara!) nor any other character by Kishimoto...I'm usually not particularly fond of emo-boy, but for some reason found myself writing this anyways...Enjoy!

**The Chains That Bind Us**

**SASUKE!!**

_Ignoring the screams, I slide to the ground, the rough bark of the tree at my back the only thing keeping me upright. _"What is this weakness?"

_Cradling the cooling body of my elder brother, I dimly realize, "_It's over."

_Distantly I'm aware of the pain in my chest and the warmth leaking from my skin. "_Is it possible I regret killing this person who claimed to be my brother?" _Looking down I find myself smirking, "_No, of course not. It's just your everyday sword-through-the-chest pain." _No wonder I feel light-headed. Tired…Surely I can rest now? _

_But no, I grunt in annoyance as the screamers that had been making their way towards me finally reach my side, pushing the lifeless body off me._

**Sasuke!! Teme!! …. Don't die….Sasuke-kun….**

_Two voices create a cacophony of sound, echoing thru my mind and uncovering long-buried memories. _"Can't I even die in peace?" _Raising my eyes, possibly to try and shut the two noisemakers up, I see the only two people who have ever broken past my barriers. My almost-sister's eyes stream with tears as she brings up her hands, already glowing green with her chakra, in an attempt to save my worthless life. The warmth of her essence clears my sight just enough to glimpse the owner of the second voice, hovering over her shoulder and encouraging her efforts. Blue eyes, pleading with me not to give up and leave them again. _

_The forgiveness in those eyes is too much, I close my eyes again. _"That Dobe… closer to me than my blood brother ever had been... I'm glad you're here." _Some part of me had known they would come, yet I refuse to allow my thoughts to linger on the idea, preferring instead, to delude myself into believing I had broken my bonds with them. _"Leaving them again shouldn't hurt much, right?  Goodbyes are simple things after all.  I'd said mine years ago."

**Teme!! You should have waited for us! Why?! Sasuke-kun! Hold on, please!...**

_Cold. Despite Sakura's efforts, I could feel the warmth trickle away, faster. The cold swiftly returning. Wanting one last look at my surrogate family, I try to open my eyes once more. They feel like lead, and when I think they are open, all I can see are the warm blurs of my would-be saviors. Faintly I can still hear their shouted demands to hold on, that I stay with them. Dismissing their frantic calls, I allow myself to drift towards the waiting darkness. _"After all, without me messing up their lives, maybe they can finally move on." _My task is complete. I'm not afraid to die. Not really. I possibly feel a small twinge of guilt at leaving them behind….again…But mostly I feel…maybe not happy, but…content. Yes, content. Sighing, I finally let go of them, my chains, murmuring, "_At least I'm not alone. Thank you." _The darkness __embraces__ me and I know no more._

Author's note: So what'd you think? Please Review!


	2. Goodbyes

**AN: Bold **is for Inner Sakura, **_bold italics _**are for speech, and "quote" (reg font in quotations) are for Sakura's coherent thoughts. This is what I came up with for a short little follow-up to The Chains that Bind. I'm trying to decide how I want to do the third one-shot from Naruto's point of view. Same day, next few days, or maybe a few years later...R&R would be appreciated...(hint, hint) For those few still wondering about April Fools...well, consider these drabbles as warm-ups to try and get me over my writer's block and back to the last chappy of that fic. ;

**Disclaimer: **I. Do. Not. Own. That should be simple enough…but it's so hard to admit…..Waaaaa!!

Simple Things

By Nekoi Seta

_Staring at the water flowing beneath the bridge, I absently smooth the wrinkles from my dress._ "**Not that he'd have cared anyways**." _I shush my inner voice as I take a deep breath, clutching the flowers in my hand tighter, as if they could give me the courage to face him again. _"He's home and the hunt is over." _For years we'd been trying to bring him back to us, his real family. Occasionally, some small part of me had wondered if we would ever succeed. However, between my inner self and Naruto, those moments never lasted very long._

"**Of course, this hadn't exactly been how we planned on bringing him home either.**" _I stifle a strangled, sobbing chuckle at this reminder of why I'm here, waiting for my other team mate. Cringing, I shudder under the barrage of recent memories, wishing desperately that I could wave them off as the lingering wisps of a bad dream. Sasuke, bleeding to death under my hands, the hellish race back to Konoha… The trip had seemed surreal, with a nightmarish quality that agonizingly brought all the 'what ifs' to mind. _

"What if we had been a little faster? What if we had found him sooner? What if we had managed to prevent him from leaving in the first place?" _My eyes start to burn with tears again. Gulping, I toss my head up, forcing the memories back. I had cried enough as we brought him back. I know the past can't be changed. That doesn't make it hurt any less. He was one of my boys, my team mate, and I had missed him. A part of me that had gone missing, leaving a hollow feeling behind. Maybe it wasn't the true love that my younger self had fantasized about, but it was still a strong emotion. And now it was over. But it still felt like the nightmare wasn't over. How could I cope? How can we go on? It would never be like it was before. Regardless of the fantasies Naruto and I shared and the plans we had made for the time when we had him back...this...this was almost worse. _

_Before I can lose myself in reminisces and comparisons to the past, footsteps shuffle onto the bridge, alerting me to the presence of another. I turn, already aware of who it is. Somber pools of blue, lacking their usual shine, return my gaze. _"**He looks good in black.**"

_He pauses in front of me, then offers me his hand. _"**_Are you ready?"_**

_Closing my eyes, I reach for him and reply, **"No, not for this." **Once again fighting the tears threatening to spill over, one last thought drifts into my mind, _"The simple things are often the hardest." _Silently, I allow him to pull me into the comfort of his arms as we walk away from the bridge. _


	3. To See Her Smile

Disclaimer:  I do not own.  How much simpler can I put it?

To See Her Smile

_At first it was all for her.  Simply to see her smile.  Well, most of it.  I doubt she remembers, but when we first met I protected her from a bunch of bullies by giving them a new target; me.  The second I saw her I KNEW she had to be the most beautiful creature on earth.  It was awhile before I saw her again.  But I hadn't forgotten.  She now had a friend to stand between her and those that occasionally still tried to pick on her.  But I was still determined to watch over her, even if only from the shadows.  _

_When I entered the Academy and realized that she was in my class, I was overjoyed.  That's also when I finally learned her name.  It was a song.  It fit her perfectly and like a Siren's call, it mesmerized me.  My ears pricked every time I heard it.  She never looked at me.  But that's ok.  I was used to being overlooked.  Part of my desire to become Hokage stemmed from the longing to be acknowledged by others.  A smaller, buried part of me wished, no… hoped, that by working towards that goal and achieving it, she would finally SEE me.  _

_Despite her shortcomings, I never stopped believing she was perfect.  Perfect for me.  When we were assigned to the same genin team I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  It hardly seemed real.  Even having the Teme as a teammate was tolerable.  Because she was there.  _

_Then the Bastard and I actually became friends; like brothers even.  The time I spent with them and our sensei as a team were some of the best memories I can ever remember having.  We were a team.  I had friends, a surrogate family.  Then came the betrayal.  _

_I thought I'd already dealt with the worst life could throw at me.  I was wrong.  Losing someone, someone precious to you…was more painful than those years of loneliness and being hated for an unknown reason.  What was worse was that he chose to leave us.  Twisting the knife.  I held it together, mostly.  For her.  I made her (and myself) a promise.  Even if she would never see me the way I wanted her to…her happiness was more important than my pain.  I would get my brother back; for all our sakes.  _

_It was not to be.  Despite my best efforts, I failed.  When I returned, empty-handed, I couldn't stand to see the emptiness in her eyes.  As if something had shattered.  I was crushed.  I didn't deserve her acknowledgement, much less the smile she tried to muster for me, if I couldn't keep a single promise.  _

_Too soon it was time for us to go our separate ways.  Together we made another promise.  We would both become stronger, train harder.  So that next time, we'd be strong enough to drag the teme back; kicking and screaming if necessary.  And we'd do it together.  We'd be a team again…a family.  I left with Ero-sennin for training._

_When next I saw her, almost three years later, I could hardly restrain the urge to pick her up and swing her around.  I had missed her.  On top of that, she had grown even more beautiful, if possible.  Events began to speed up after our reunion.  We received mission after mission; even running into the bastard on a few of them.  But he never stuck around long._

_We began to get desperate.  Time was running out.  We had to get him away from the snake and bring him home.  It was as if the rest of our lives had been put on hold.  We couldn't seem to move forward without him; our missing link, our brother._

_Now, here we are.  It's over and he was back.  Definitely not the way we had imagined it.  Things would never be the same.  I was numb; bemused by the cruel illusions cast by time.  That while happy moments flashed and disappeared quickly, the horrible and nightmarish events in our lives seemed to freeze everything.  Until you were left screaming in your mind, begging for time to thaw, releasing you from the torment._

_Approaching the bridge, I catch her gaze as she looks up.  I can see the same turmoil I'm suffering from, mirrored in her eyes._   "What will we do now?  How can we move forward after this_?"_  _Ignoring these and other questions that are running circles thru my mind, I stop in front of her and hold out my hand,_ **_"Are you ready?" _**_I ask, already knowing the answer. _ **_"No, not for this."  _**_I feel the same way.  As she takes my hand I give in to the urge to comfort her and the need to be physically closer.  I pull her into my arms as we walk silently away from the bridge.  It may be awhile, but I know I will see her smile again._

_Painful as it was…still is…  I'd go thru it all again, if it would make her happy.  For me, her happiness will always come first.  To see her smile again, sparkling, will make it all worthwhile.  The simplest things are what make life worth living; friendship, family, love, laughter, even sorrow, when shared.  These chains which bind us, make us stronger.  I cherish mine and bear them gladly.  Despite everything, I hope it won't be too long before I see her smile again.  'Til then, I will do what I can to ease the pain of the loss of one of our chains, our bonds.  Our teammate._

AN: Just so you all know, I left this fic open-ended on purpose.  Just in case you didn't notice, I never actually came right out and said Sasuke died.  Heavily implied maybe, but not confirmed.  For all you guys know, Kakashi or Sai could have been the ones to kick the bucket.  And Sasuke could probably still be in the hospital recuperating, or even still under arrest in a holding cell.    Aren't I evil? 


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